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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wind · field · fall · court · bound · shower · last · bowl

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. last — finally
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fall — the season
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. last — to go on
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bound — certain
  14. field — for sport
  15. last — final
  16. field — a subject
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bound — obliged
  21. court — for sport
  22. shower — rain
  23. field — farmland
  24. court — of a king

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com